Arlington Post Office
The Arlington Post Office was established in 1937 to consolidate postal services in Arlington
The post office provided a focal point for establishing the identity of Arlington and unifying the area’s many suburban villages into a single community.
The Arlington Post Office was established in 1937 to consolidate postal services in Arlington. Before this, postal services were provided by each of Arlington’s small communities such as Rosslyn, South Washington, Glencarlyn, and Ballston post offices. The Clarendon site was picked because it was close to the area which held the largest concentration of businesses in Arlington and was viewed as Arlington’s “business district.”
In 1936, $200,000 was appropriated for a consolidated post office in Clarendon. In August 1936, the site was purchased for $24,850 and by January 1937, the Baltimore firm of J.K Ruff had been chosen as general contractor, submitting the low bid of $124,971. In its first year, the Arlington Post Office had 70 employees. The post office provided a focal point for establishing the identity of Arlington and unifying the area’s many suburban villages into a single community.
The laying of the cornerstone the following year, was a major event. The ceremony was attended by several thousand people and was preceded by a 40-float parade. Postmaster General James A. Farley and Arlington Congressman Howard Smith were among the many dignitaries present. The trowel used to lay the cornerstone had been used to lay the cornerstones of the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Washington Monument.
The building is a one-story, pentagonal shaped brick building in the Georgian Revival style and was designed by Louis A. Simon, supervising architect of the US Treasury Department. Atop the entrance portico is a dome that rises above the building’s flat roof and is supported by four fluted limestone piers.
The interior features murals by Auriel Bessemer, a DC artist who was commissioned for the work by the federal Works Progress Administration—a program designed to provide work for artisans during the Great Depression. His murals depict idealized scenes he envisioned as being from several eras of Arlington history such Native Americans on Analostan Island (see image), Captain John Smith and the Native Americans he met (see image), tobacco picking at the Custis mansion (image), a picnic at Great Falls, polo players at Fort Myer, and a contemporary harvest at an apple orchard (see image).
On February 7, 1986: Arlington’s main post office building was accepted to the National Register of Historic Places.
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